For trade groups, the problem with offering membership to startups is this: The startups that hold the most potential for innovation often can’t afford a membership in the organization.

Rather than miss out on the opportunities that smaller companies could bring to the table, the International Multimedia Telecommunications Consortium (IMTC), which advocates for new telecommunications technology, is making room for those companies by offering a slimmed-down membership option. The association’s new Start-Up Member tier, available to companies that have 20 or fewer employees and make less than $5 million in annual revenue, gives startups the opportunity to join the organization for $2,000 per year for the first two years—significantly less than the usual cost of $15,500 per year.

The new tier allows members to participate in activity groups as well as accept leadership roles in those groups, attend the group’s annual events, access IMTC content, and receive traditional benefits. Startups, won’t, however, get a vote in the group’s elections and won’t be able to hold roles on the association’s board. While the association has a tier that is free for individuals, it isn’t considered a membership and includes only a few of the member offerings in the startup tier.

ITMC President Anatoli Levine, the product management director of Spirent Communications, says that the new offering allows for collaboration between different kinds of companies.

“With technologies evolving and changing at an ever quickening pace, IMTC is unique because it provides a neutral environment allowing all members of any size to work together to improve the end-user experience and help drive adoption of all types of UC and multimedia technologies,” Levine said in a news release.

The effort is similar to a member offering announced by the Open Gaming Alliance earlier this year. That group offers a cut-rate plan specifically for startup gaming studios, at a cost of $250 per year, opening up membership to up-and-coming game developers.

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